Citing financial losses, the non-profit Adams Avenue Business Association has decided to discontinue its free annual Roots Festival, a celebration of earthy acoustic music styles that was launched 18 years ago. It is being replaced by Adams Avenue Unplugged, a free, two-day festival of acoustic music that will be held in 24 restaurants and bars along the avenue.

The new event will debut April 21-22 and will feature 170 performances by a lineup that includes such top San Diego artists as Gregory Page, Tomcat Courtney, Sara Petite and Curt Bouterse. Two longtime Roots Festival alums, EZ Mark and the Budapest Brothers, will be coming from their home base in Fresno to perform.

The change of festivals will enable the assoiation to save money by eliminating the need to erect and power multiple outdoor stages on Adams Avenue (which required street closures and the re-routing of city bus routes).

At the same time, the footprint of the new event will be significantly larger than the festival it replaces.

Recent editions of the Roots Festival featured music on three outdoor stages and two indoor stages, which were located on eight blocks of Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. Adams Avenue Unplugged will feature music in two dozen restaurants and bars, which cover a two-mile expanse along the avenue, from Kensington to North Park.

Free shuttles will run both days on Adams Avenue for the festival, which will also feature music on outdoor stages in two parks and one private outdoor parking lot. The arts and crafts vendors, whose booths were located on Adams Avenue durign the Roots Festival, will now display their wares on the large athletic field at Adams Avenue and 35th Street.

“We lost a lot of money on the Roots Festival over the past few years, because its very expensive to close the streets down and run eight blocks of electronic cables,” said Scott Kessler, the special events coordinator for the association, which also produces the 31-year-old. Adams Avenue Street Fair each September.

“This way, we can put more of the budget into promotion, advertising and infrastructure,” Kessler continued. “Last year’s Roots Festival cost about $80,0000 and the Street Fair about $180,000. We’re making money with the Street Fair, but were losing money on the Roots Festival.

"Adams Avenue Unplugged will enable us to have an impact in the restaurants and bars that are outside of our traditional event footprint and cover the boundaries of our business district.”

As a result of the change, Mariposa Ice Cream will no longer be located at the center of what was the Roots Festival and is now Adams Avenue Unplugged.

"It remains to be seen how the new event does, but we certainly hope it’s for the good,” said Dick Van Ransom, Mariposa’s co-founder. “This may not be as good for us (business-wise), but it looks like it will be better for the avenue in general. And the success of the avenue is what guarantees the success of all of us on the avenue.”